Renowned documentary filmmaker and World War II veteran dies at 92

Renowned documentary filmmaker and New Jersey native Lou Reda passed away on Sept. 30. He was 92 years old.

“At 92, he lived a great life,” his son, Mark Reda, told The Morning Call. “He accomplished an awful lot.”

Lou Reda, a World War II veteran who joined the Navy during his freshman year of high school, made hundreds of historical documentaries for A&E and the History Channel.

Lou Reda Productions (Twitter)

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Reda’s productions have won dozens of awards, including an Emmy award for “WWII in HD,” which aired on the History Channel in 2009.

According to the Lou Reda Productions website:

“Lou Reda, the company’s founder, first made a national name for himself in 1982 when he executive produced the CBS miniseries The Blue and Gray (starring Gregory Peck as Abraham Lincoln). Over the next 30 years, the company produced more than 500 hours of programming for US and international television networks, garnering immense praise in the form of a People’s Choice Award, a Peabody Award and eight Emmy nominations (including one win). Among the company’s recent productions are the event television series WWII in HD (narrated by Gary Sinise) and Vietnam in HD (narrated by Michael C. Hall), produced for History and Brothers In War (narrated by Charlie Sheen), produced for National Geographic.”

Reda’s son, Scott, said his father would come to the office every day up until the last few years, after suffering from dementia.

“Lou Reda Productions wasn’t just an office, it was a home. And it was Lou’s house,” filmmaker Gershon Hinkson told WFMZ.